BEST BETS | July 6-12, 2017

“Macbeth” (above) extends, “Dancing Granny” is in her last leg, and “Riverside” and “Little Shop” arrive next week. Pictured: Justin Deeley as Macbeth in Serenbe Playhouse’s outdoor staging, with the Witches (from left), Skye Passmore, Jessica De Maria and Jasmine Thomas. Photo by BreeAnne Clowdus.

** Indicates an Encore Atlanta spring/summer season recommendation.

Recommended

Benjamin DeWitt Sims as the Spider. Photo: Greg Mooney

** The Dancing Granny. THROUGH JULY 16. The Alliance Theatre continues its season-long road trip due to renovations at the Woodruff Arts Center. Granny is a family-friendly world premiere based on the children’s book by 2017 Newbery honoree Ashley Bryan. In this play with music, Ananse, the clever spider from African folklore, tries to trick Granny into dancing away from her garden so he can take her vegetables. The script is by Alliance/Kendeda Competition alumnus Jiréh Breon Holder (Too Heavy for Your Pocket). $15; $8 ages 6-17; age 5 and under free. Granny is in the last leg of its three-location run. See it at Spelman College in southwest Atlanta (July 8-16). Details, tickets HERE or at 404.733.5000.

Macbeth. EXTENDED THROUGH JULY 17. Serenbe Playhouse puts a contemporary spin on the Shakespeare tragedy, setting it in a war zone (outdoors, of course) in the forest against a waterfall. After receiving a prophecy that he’ll become king of Scotland, Macbeth (Justin Deeley) commits a heinous act fueled by his lust for power and his wife’s wicked influence. The general-turned-king is then beset by guilt and paranoia. A cast of 10 tells the tale. Amy Holtcamp directs. As with the company’s ongoing Robin Hood, Grammy nominee John Burke provides original music. Note: Contains adult themes and violence. $25-$30. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday. 11213 Serenbe Lane in Chattahoochee Hills. Directions HERE. Details, tickets HERE or at 770.463.1110. Discount tickets at PoshDealz.com.

Opening this week

A Midsummer Night’s Dream. IN PREVIEWS TONIGHT |OPENS SATURDAY. Shakespeare Tavern Playhouse. Two pairs of lovers (one requited, one not so much) and a ragtag group of thespians find themselves lost in the woods as quarreling leaders turn the fairy kingdom on its head. What fools these mortals be! Pub menu and beverages available. Previews tonight ($15) and Friday ($20). Regularly $15-$39. Through July 30. 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; 6:30 p.m. Sunday. 499 Peachtree St. NE (across from Emory University Hospital Midtown). Details, tickets HERE or at 404.874.5299.

Robin Hood.THROUGH AUG. 13. Another show for families. Serenbe Playhouse takes to the skies (via zip lines) to tell the story of the outlaw (Jordan Patrick) devoted to Maid Marian (Casey Shuler) and doing good deeds with his Merry Men. The adaptation by frequent Serenbe collaborator Rachel Teagle includes original music by Grammy nominee John Burke. $10-$20. 11 a.m. Friday-Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Performed at the Farmers Market Hideaway in Serenbe, Chattahoochee Hills. Directions HERE. Details, tickets HERE or at 770.463.1110. Discount tickets at PoshDealz.com.

Next week

** Between Riverside and Crazy. IN PREVIEWS JULY 11. The New York Times called this 2015 Pulitzer Prize winner “a dizzying and exciting place to be” and said playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis “has a splendid ear in blurring lines between the sacred and profane.” The story: Ex-cop “Pops” Washington (Earl Billings) is trying to hold onto his dignity and one of the last great rent-stabilized apartments in Manhattan, but he’s had enough. His wife has died, the liquor store can’t keep pace with his thirst, and his last living relative, a son, moves in with a girlfriend and a newly sober buddy. Eric J. Little directs. Note: Contains adult language/situations recommended for ages 16 and up. $20-$60. Also previews July 12-13. Opens July 14. Through Aug. 6. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 2:30 + 8 p.m. Saturday; 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Also at 11 a.m. July 19 + 26. Southwest Arts Center, 915 New Hope Road. Details HERE. Tickets at Ticket Alternative HERE or 877.725.8849.

** Little Shop of Horrors. IN PREVIEWSJULY 12-14. Actor’s Express goes to Skid Row with this twisty cult favorite about a flower shop nerd, his unrequited love, a demented dentist and an insatiable blood-devouring plant. The horror-comedy musical ran off-Broadway for five years in the 1980s, became a 1986 movie and was revived on Broadway in 2003. You may know the tunes “Suddenly Seymour” and “Somewhere That’s Green.” Here, Juan Carlos Unzueta (the Piragua Guy from Aurora/Theatrical Outfit’s In the Heights) is Seymour, Kylie Brown is Audrey and Bill Murphey is Mr. Mushnik. Kennesaw State University’s Rick Lombardo directs. Previews are $20; opens at 8 p.m. July 15 ($40). Regularly $28 and up plus tax. Subject to change. Through Aug. 29. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. At the King Plow Arts Center in West Midtown, 887 West Marietta St. NW. Details, tickets HERE or at 404.607.7469. Discount tickets at PoshDealz.com.

Coming up

TC Carson, Brittany Inge. Photo: Greg Mooney

Blackberry Daze. OPENS JULY 14. At Horizon Theatre. A small Virginia town is rocked by secrets and seduction at the end of World War I, when a provocative gambler named Herman Camm (TC Carson) works his magic on three unsuspecting women. Adapted by Ruth P. Watson and Thomas W. Jones II from Watson’s novel Blackberry Days of Summer. The blues score is by William Knowles; Jones directs. Also in the cast: Christy Clark,Brittany Inge, Naomi Lavette, Christian Magby and Ayana Reed. $25 and up. Through Aug. 27. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 3 + 8:30 p.m. Saturday; 5 p.m. Sunday. 1083 Austin Ave. NE (at Euclid Avenue). Details, tickets HERE or at 404.584.7450.

Johnny Cash

Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash. JULY 13-29. Georgia Ensemble Theatre and the Chattahoochee Nature Center partner for this concert version of the 2006 Broadway tuner. It tells the Man in Black’s story through more than 20 of his hits, including “A Boy Named Sue,” “Daddy Sang Bass,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Jackson” and “I Walk the Line.” The concert reunites Chris Damiano and Christopher Kent (both in Million Dollar Quartet) and includes Scott DePoy, Laura Lindahl and Mark Schroeder. Picnicking allowed; cash bar on-site. $15 general admission lawn seats; $30 reserved table beneath the Ben Brady Pavilion. 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday. Nature Center opens at 6:30 p.m. 9135 Willeo Road, Roswell. Details, tickets HERE or at 770.641.1260.

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About Kathy Janich

Kathy Janich is a longtime arts journalist who has been seeing, working in or writing about the performing arts for most of her life. She's a member of the Theatre Communications Group, the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas, Americans for the Arts and the National Arts Marketing Project. Full disclosure: She’s also an artistic associate at Synchronicity Theatre.